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    The SPARK Program
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About

The SPARK Program

Using advanced technology and animal behavioral research to protect animals from poaching threats.

enChoice has partnered with Welgevonden Game Reserve (WGR) to provide project management and technical support for the unique Welgevonden SPARK program (Sentinel Protection Against Rhino Killing).

About the Program

SPARK is a unique program aimed at using advanced technology including the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and animal behavioral research to protect threatened species, in particular the Rhino, from devastating poaching threats.

Historically the Rhino has had no natural predators; survival was virtually guaranteed due to its massive size and killer horn. But the world has since changed and the Rhino’s horn is no longer a defense, but instead a highly sought after and valued item. Exacerbated by the involvement of International Crime Syndicates, Rhinos are now suffering devastating poaching which threatens the very survival of the species.

Participants in the Program

enChoice

provides project management and technical support

Wageningen University

handles the animal behavioral algorithms

Company Name

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Company Name

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In the ground-breaking SPARK, a variety of ungulate (or hooved) species are fitted with specially designed sensors to record their movement and analyze their reactions to environmental events. As the data is collected, rule-based patterns or algorithms are used to predict when the prey-animals respond to various perceived human threats. If suspicious activity is detected, action can be taken immediately to locate and protect the threatened animal.

The Proof of Concept has been successfully completed for SPARK, leading to the conclusion that by using this technology rhino poaching success rates can drop from around 90% to single digits.

Preparations are now underway to launch the full-fledged operation, which will involve both finalizing and testing the technical infrastructure and collaring approximately 3,000 sentinel animals including Zebra, Wildebeest, Kudu and Eland. to learn more about how you can join enChoice in Saving the Rhinos.

In an effort to save the rhino population from extinction, enChoice has commissioned Ray Dearlove as our Adviser on Endangered Species. In addition, enChoice provides support to Welgevonden Game Reserve's SPARK, which is using advanced technologies and animal behavioral research to protect threatened species.

The Proof of Concept has been successfully completed for SPARK, leading to the conclusion that by using this technology rhino poaching success rates can drop from around 90% to single digits.

As a result the great success of this program and the widespread interest in the topic of rhino protection, Tony White was able to procure a private meeting to brief Jane Goodall on SPARK. Jane and Tony were photographed together after their meeting (see photo).

“It was an honor to meet Jane and to have the opportunity to talk with her about our successes using technology in SPARK,” said Tony White. “Jane showed great interest in the program, and we are currently providing her with more details.”

Spreading the Word About Rhino Protection: Meeting Jane Goodall

enChoice’s Chairman, Tony White attended the annual Fall expo of the Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) on October 12th, 2019.

The WCN is the leading organization in the US that raises funds to protect endangered species. Dr. Jane Goodall was keynote speaker at the Expo, and her session was sold out with a 2,400 person attendance. Goodall is one of the world’s most celebrated scientists and supporters of wildlife conservation, and is most noted for her work with chimpanzees. She is also the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute.

enChoice is a sponsor of SPARK, a unique and groundbreaking program aimed at using advanced technology including the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and animal behavioral research to protect threatened species, in particular the Rhino, from devastating poaching threats. The initial implementation of the project is at Welgevonden Game Reserve in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.

Meet Ray Dearlove, enChoice's Adviser on Endangered Species

For the past decade, Ray Dearlove has worked tirelessly for the preservation of the rhinoceros.

All five remaining rhino species are under severe threat and on the verge of extinction in their wild habitat due to excessive poaching, driven by a burgeoning market for the consumption of rhinoceros horn in China and South-east Asia.

Ray is South African born and educated and he emigrated with his family to Australia in 1987. Most of Ray’s career has been in executive positions in the IT industry, specifically with IBM, EMC and Network Appliance. Ray was able to match his love of sport with his career by being General Manager of the highly successful Sydney University Football Club for ten years and also had a stint with Rugby World Cup winning coach, Jake White, at the Brumbies. He has run his own high-profile Events Management Company for many years, organising successful and profitable events for organisations such as The Australian Rugby Union, Sydney University, the Brumbies, the South Sydney Rabbitohs Rugby League Club and also with not-for-profits such as Lifestart and the Black Dog Institute which works to address depression.

In May 2013, Ray founded The Australian Rhino Project which is focused on establishing breeding herds of white and black rhinoceros in Australia as an insurance population for the two species which face the threat of extinction in the wild. This project gained serious global momentum - a daunting but extremely important and satisfying venture (and adventure) and while Ray is no longer directly involved, the Project is ongoing with exciting plans to import the rhinos into Australia in the not too distant future. Ray continued his desire to assist I the preservation of endangered species such as rhinos and elephants through his work with the Wildlife Conservation Network, the Communication Conservation for Africa and SPARK.

Ray has now turned his hand to writing and in 2019 published the Book of Poems for the Rhino. General Johan Jooste of SANParks was kind enough to write the foreword for the book and referred to Ray as a ''Rhino Whisperer''

All proceeds of the sales of the books have been directed to the Black Mambas, the all- female anti-poaching unit.

In 2020, Ray published a book about the Australian Rhino Project entitled The Crash of Rhinos. The title is a play on words. A ‘’crash’’ is the collective noun for rhinos, but it also describes the carnage wrought by poachers in Africa who have slaughtered more than 10,000 rhinos – three a day - in the past decade to feed the seemingly insatiable demand for rhino horn in some Asian countries. ‘’The Crash of Rhinos’’ traces the origin of the Project to the present situation with the team still working to relocate rhinos to Australia. It is an insightful, frustrating, humorous and humbling story that will make you laugh, cry and tear your hair out in exasperation. In Ray’s own words, “There was extreme joy and there was acute heartache.”

This fascinating story demonstrates what can be achieved by one person with the passion, resilience and dogged persistence to meet challenges, obstacles and the glacial pace of governments - even in the face of a crisis.

Stay updated on the SPARK program and Save the Rhino